Experience has taught me that sharpness in nature photography is a fragile phenomenon. It’s easy to make mistakes that compromise sharpness. Even assuming the camera settings are appropriate for the conditions, several factors can ruin an image’s sharpness despite having the “right” settings. In my experience, while the quality difference between lenses does matter, how photos are taken plays a much more significant role. During winter, seals occasionally lounge on the ice that forms at the estuary of the Eyjafjarðará River. While reviewing photos of ringed and gray seals taken on a good day, I reflected on some considerations regarding sharpness. Most of the photos turned out well, but some lacked sharpness, which would not have been a problem with the proper techniques. The intention here isn’t to list all factors affecting sharpness. There are countless articles online about that. Instead, I aim to share what I keep in mind when photographing in certain conditions to ensure sharpness. These factors often get less attention than camera settings or lens selection. The difference in sharpness between expensive and moderately priced lenses pales in comparison to the impact of specific techniques that can compromise sharpness. While shutter speed, aperture, and tripod use are undoubtedly important, I consider other aspects as well. Nowadays, seals can relax at the Eyjafjarðará River without worry, as seal hunting has largely been banned in Iceland. Hunting seals was banned in 2019. Before that, seals were shot near river estuaries to protect the interests of anglers. Today, the Directorate of Fisheries may issue limited hunting permits in regions where such practices are traditional. However, seal hunting is mostly a thing of the past. The accompanying photos were taken with a Nikon Z7ii and a Nikon Z 400mm f4.5 lens, using 1.4X and 2X teleconverters. Hidden Causes of Poor Sharpness in Bird and Wildlife Photography Heat...

Mastering time pressure in landscape photography is tricky. In this video, we cover tips and tricks for capturing great photos when you have only a few minutes. Aperture and shutter speed are critical, and I explain why and what camera settings I use under stressful situations. However, how you work the scene is the most important part of a great landscape photo. Ensuring quality is not compromised is essential when you stand in front of a great landscape scene trying to capture it.

When you have spent decades photographing Iceland, it becomes harder to find new locations, creative compositions, and subjects. Sometimes you manage to find new compositions, sometimes not, and this photography trip to the mysterious mountain Snæfell in East Iceland demonstrated what we’ve often encountered: you need to return to some places, again and again, to get different conditions and lighting for your photography – and not least to learn the location and do what photographers call “working the scene.” Few shots from the photo journey Gyða gives a sense of scale, standing in front of the Hafrahvammagljúfur canion. The patterns and abstract formations created by the small ponds in the desert are amazing. The wind was strong when this was taken. The colors of the Snæfell mountain remind of Landmannalaugar. The colors are similar since this is a volcano. Some believe the mountain is still an active volcano.

Waiting for the right light in landscape photography can be challenging. Gyða and I spent two nights at Herðubreiðarlindir in the jeep to capture Herðubreið at sunset. Herðubreið has fascinated me as a subject, as it's called the ‘Queen of Icelandic Mountains’ and was voted Iceland's national mountain in 2002. Most pictures of this beautifully shaped mountain found on the internet are what I call midday photos. Harsh light that does the landscape no favors. This is probably because most people visit Askja and Herðubreiðarlindir when the weather is bright and clear. But that’s not necessarily the best light. We needed colorful photos of the national mountain, so we set out to achieve that goal. The sunset on the first evening was decent but didn’t offer the vibrant colors we had hoped for. So, we spent the time walking around the area, searching for foregrounds and suitable compositions. On day two, we woke up to scorching heat, a swarm of insects, and harsh light with pitch-black shadows and scorched clouds. Nevertheless, we decided to wait out the harsh light and let the insects feast on us all day, hoping the light would soften by evening. As sunset approached, we weren’t optimistic. A thick cloud bank had formed over the mountain, and the conditions didn’t look promising. But when the time came, the clouds thinned, and we were treated to an explosion of colors that we won’t soon forget. After 11 p.m., the sun began to paint the sky, reaching its peak between 11:00 and 11:30. We stayed up until 1 a.m. and went to bed content, despite the mosquito bites. Actually, I wasn’t bitten at all. For some reason, the mosquitoes found Gyða much sweeter than me. Different foregrounds place different emphasis on the mountain in the composition. However, the mountain always remains the...

Photographing the queen of all mountains There is this mountain in Iceland called Herðubreið, sometimes referred to as the queen of Icelandic mountains. We have always wanted to photograph this mountain during the golden hours. This is what we did. We spent two days photographing in the highlands and camped in our car. In this video, we drive into the highlands, where we have a great time.